Rise to the top
by SundayDarkness
Summary: Ace had never really been interested in anyone before and the band he played in, The Straw Hats, and his part-time job took pretty much all his time. But when he comes across a certain blonde bass player that catches his attention, will he start thinking about how he uses his time? boyxboy, au, band-au,
1. Chapter 1

_**Okay, so the last few days I've had this idea for a One Piece fanfiction involving them playing in bands, and since the idea never left my mind I figured I might as well write it.**_

_**Btw, I apologise if the summary is bad, I'm not really good at doing them.**_

_**And also, this is my first fanfiction ever, so I would appreciate it if you guys would leave me a review so I can make this story better.**_

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><p>"That was a great show guys. The crowd loved you." A woman with long, orange hair greeted them when they got off stage. The woman was wearing a pair of blue, tight low-rider jeans, a white, long sleeved shirt and a pair of black high-heels.<p>

"Thanks Nami." Ace, who had the lead vocals in the band, smiled at their manager. They had just finished playing a gig she had gotten them a few weeks before at a club. Nami left to go and talk with the clubs owner and he looked at the rest of the members of the band. The bassist, Zoro, and the guitarist, Sanji, were arguing about something. Brook, who played the piano, was asking some of the female workers if he could see their underwear and getting hit because of it. His brother Luffy, who played drums, was throwing himself over a table with food.

Ace used the towel he had hanging around his neck to wipe away the sweat in his face and on his upper body, as he was not wearing a shirt.

They had been getting many gigs lately at clubs in the Grand Line. The Grand Line area had some of the most popular clubs and venues and all the bands that was going somewhere played there.

After a little while, Nami came back and told them they had to leave. Their equipment had already been loaded into the black van outside that carried the band's name on the sides, "The Straw Hats".

Nami pretty much had to drag Luffy with her to the van to get him to stop eating. While Nami dragged Luffy to the van, Zoro and Brook got into the backseat and Sanji got behind the wheel. He had gotten the shortest straw this time and had to drive.

"You guys can just go back first; I'm heading to Shakky's." Ace said as Luffy jumped into the backseat with Zoro and Brook and Nami was about to get into the passenger seat.

"Then we'll see you later Ace." Nami waved her hand a little in goodbye as she got into the passenger seat and they drove off.

Ace waited until he could not see the van any more before he started walking down the street. From the club they played at, it should take him around five minutes to get to Shakky's rip-off bar. He often went there after they played a show in Grand Line to get a drink. The owner, Shakky, used to play in a band a long time ago, and she always gave Ace good advice when it came to music.

After around five minutes he was walking over to the bar inside Shakky's and sat down on one of the bar stools. There were a lot of people there today and most of them were standing close to the stage. It looked like they were waiting for a band to perform.

"There is a band playing tonight." Ace almost fell of the stool as the unexpected sound had caught him off guard. He turned his head and looked at a woman with short, black hair smoking a cigarette.

"Shakky." Ace looked at the woman while she placed a bottle of beer in front of him. "You surprised me." He took the beer bottle and started drinking. The woman smiled at him taking a drag from her cigarette.

"Did the gig go well?" Ace smiled at the woman and nodded before he started to tell her about how, after they had finished their set list, the crowd wanted more and they played three more songs. Shakky was listening and when Ace finished telling about their gig, she asked some questions about what songs they had played.

Screaming coming from the direction of the stage drew their attention to the stage, where the band had come out and were getting ready to play.

Ace's jaw almost dropped to the floor when he saw the band. That was The Phoenix, one of the most popular, unsigned bands at the moment. He had never seen them play before, and he had not really listened to them either but everyone that used to hang out in Grand Line knew who they were.

He watched as the band introduced themselves and started playing. If he did not remember wrong from what Nami once told him about the band, the lead singers name was Izo, the guitarists name was Haru-something and the drummers name was something starting with a T. The bassists name he could not remember anything about, not that his brain really worked right now.

Ace was staring at the bassist. His blonde hair and muscular build, that was easily shown since the purple jacket he was wearing was open and he was not wearing a shirt underneath. His droopy eyes fitted perfect along with his smile.

Ace kept staring at the bassists during the whole show while drinking. After the band had left the stage and the crew had started removing the bands equipment from the stage, he paid Shakky and went home

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><p>Ace woke up the next morning by someone calling his phone. It had been almost 3am by the time he finally got home, and he was exhausted. He had been really exhausted the last couple of weeks because of things being busy with the band and his part-time job as a waiter.<p>

Last night had not really been that much better considering he had argued with Shakky for about fifteen minutes about how much he was going to pay. He had only been drinking three bottles of beer, knowing Shakky he had been counting, but she tried to make him pay for six bottles. Shakky was a friend, but Ace knew that she would never hesitate trying to make someone pay for more than they had been drinking, and she usually succeeded.

When he finally left the bar and had started walking home the rain had started pouring down, and since he did not have enough money on him for a taxi, he had no choice but to walk through the rain. When he finally got back, he took a shower and went to bed, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Looking at the time, he saw that that was around seven-eight hours ago. Sighting, Ace picked up the phone with a sleepy: "Hello?"

"Ace, are you still sleeping?" He sat up when he recognized Nami's voice. He heard some noises in the background before Nami spoke again. "Forget it, just hurry up and get ready. We will be by you place to pick you up in ten minutes.

"Pick me up?" Ace was confused; he could not remember anything happening today. He heard Nami sigh in the other end.

"I should have known you would forget." It was quiet for a moment. "We are going to the Red Line club to talk to the owners and see if he thinks you guys are good enough to play at the band event in two days on Friday." Shit. Ace had completely forgotten.

"I'll be ready by the time you guys get her." Ace said and hung up before rushing out of bed to find some clothes. He put on the same black knee-length shorts he was wearing yesterday and threw on a yellow t-shirt before walking out of his bedroom.

When he got to the kitchen and opened the fridge, he found it empty. Silently swearing he made a mental note going by the supermarket today.

Still hungry, Ace made his way to the bedroom and picked up his phone that he had just thrown on the bed after hanging up on Nami. He put his phone in his back pocket and walked to the front door. He put on his black boots and grabbed his keys before he walked out of his apartment and locked the door.

When he came out of his apartment, he could see the band's van pulling up and stopping. Feeling a little guilty he forgot, he hurried into the backseat where Sanji, Luffy and Brook was already sitting. Zoro was in the passenger seat and Nami was driving. As soon as he was in the van and the car door closed Nami stepped on the gas.

It took them almost one and a half hour to reach Red Line club. The club was popular and well known for having shows including several bands once a month, and only the best got to play there. There were two people that owned the Red Line club, Shanks and Whitebeard.

The only reason they had gotten the chance to prove that they were good enough to play there, was because Luffy knew Shanks. Ace had met him on a few occasions before, but he had never really had the chance to talk to the man.

Luffy had jumped out of the car and run inside as soon as it had stopped. Zoro took his bass, Sanji took his guitar, Brook took his keyboard out of the van, and the five standing there walked into the club.

Once inside they could see Luffy standing in front of a man with red hair, three scars over his left eye and missing his left arm. Ace recognized him as Shanks.

Nami walked up to the man standing there with Luffy and introduced first herself and then Ace, Sanji, Zoro and Brook.

Nami and Shanks started talking a little bit about what was going to happen. Ace was paying attention at first but then his eyes caught something else. By the bar five people were talking together, he recognized all five of them. The oldest of them, a man with a white crescent-shaped mustache was Edward Newgate, best known as Whitebeard, one of the owners of the Red Line club.

The other four he had, for the first time, seen perform live just last night; it was the members of The Phoenix.

"Ace." Nami's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked at her. Knowing she had his attention, she continued. "You guys have five minutes and then you will play one of your songs. The drum kit is already there and Sanji, Zoro and Brook is getting ready. Go join them on stage and get ready yourself." Ace just nodded before he walked over to the stage and jumped up.

The five minutes went by fast and they were currently talking about what song to play. They decided to play "Make You King".

As soon as Luffy joined them on stage, Shanks told them to just start when they were ready. Luffy got behind the drum kit, Brook was standing ready with his fingers lingering on the tangents of his keyboard, Zoro was ready with his bass and Sanji was ready with his guitar.

Ace nodded to Luffy and he hit his drumsticks together, first two times and then four times, and then they started playing.

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><p><strong><em>Thanks for reading, I would love getting your opinion on it so I can make it better.<em>**

**_:)_**


	2. Chapter 2

**I finally got around to finish the second chapter :)**

**I got really happy seeing that people seemed to like my story, and I really wanted to get this chapter out sooner, but of course writersblock came into the picture a few times.**

**Well, enough of that. I'll just let you guys read the second chapter now.**

**Disclamer: I do not own One Piece nor any of** the** characters. No matter how much I wish I did, I don't**

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><p>Marco was tired. He had not been able to sleep after he got back from the show. He was the bassist in the popular, unsigned band The Phoenix. The band consisted of him on bass, his brother Izo on vocals, his brother Thatch on drums and his sister Haruta on guitar.<p>

They had been playing a show at Shakky's rip-off bar the night before, and even though he was exhausted when he came back home around 1 am he had not been able to sleep. After lying awake for around an hour, he had gotten out of bed and tried to write some new songs for the band instead.

Looking at his phone Marco saw that it was almost 10 am. Knowing he was supposed to meet the rest of the band at Red Line club in around two hours, he went into the kitchen and made bacon and eggs for breakfast.

When he finished eating, the time on his phone said 10:45 am. Knowing he would use around an hour driving there from his apartment in West Blue, he changed into a pair of black jeans and a light-blue t-shirt.

Pulling on a pair of sneakers and throwing on his purple jacket, he left his apartment and pulled his keys out of his jacket pocket to lock the door.

He walked over to his car, got in and was about to started it, when his phone started ringing in his pocket. Pulling his phone up from his pocket, he looked at the screen and answered. "Hey Izo."

"Oh, Marco. Have you left your place yet?" His brothers' voice sounded over the phone.

"I just got into my car. Why? Do you need a ride to Red Line?" Marco could almost hear his brother grinning on the other end of the line.

"I was not planning on asking for a ride, but since you offered."

"I'll be there in about ten minutes." Marco smiled when his brother thanked him, told him to hurry up and hung up on him. It was just like Izo, trying to get a ride with him while pretending that was not his intention.

Marco loved his brother, he really did, and he did not mind picking up Izo as it was only about a ten minutes drive from where he lived and it was on the way. Starting his car, he left his own driveway and started driving towards Izo's place.

Ten minutes later, he pulled up in his brother's driveway and stopped the car. Knowing his brother, Marco knew he would have to go inside to get him.

Leaving the car, he walked up the stairs and stopped outside of the door to Izo's apartment. Trying the door and finding it unlocked, he opened it and walked inside before calling his brother. "Izo."

He heard someone walking down the stairs and saw his brother's head come around the corner to his right from the living room.

"Give me five minutes and I'll be ready." Izo smiled at him before walking back up the stairs to get to the bathroom on second floor. At least Marco guessed he was going to the bathroom since his hair was down.

Not bothering to take of his shoes, Marco just walked into the living room at the end of the stairs leading to the second floor, and sat down in the couch to wait for his brother to finish getting ready.

A few minutes later Izo came down the stairs wearing a pink and purple kimono. His hair was tied back so it resembled a geisha hairstyle, something that fitted quite well with his pale skin.

Izo really liked wearing kimonos, makeup and tying his hair up in geisha hairstyles. It gave him a unique look, and it fitted quite well for the bands front man.

"Ready to go?" Marco looked at Izo, who smiled and nodded to him.

Marco got up from the couch and followed his brother out of the apartment.

While Izo locked the door, Marco walked to his car and got in in front of the steering wheel waiting for Izo to join him.

A few minutes later, they were on their way to Red Line club. The reason they were going there was because their father, one of the owners of the club, had asked them to come down. He had told them that a band, that was hoping to get to play at that friday's show 'the Grand Event', was coming down to show what they could and he wanted them to be there to listen to them.

Well, saying it was their father that had asked them to come was both true and not. He was not their real father, but he had adopted them all and as he saw them as his sons and daughters, they saw him as their father.

"Hey Marco, are you listening?" Shaken from his own thoughts Marco looked over at his brother for a second before returning his eyes to the road.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

Izo sighed and shook his head. "What I said was: Have you heard about the band? The Straw Hats?"

"I have heard about them, but I have never heard them play before." Marco threw a glance at Izo, who was now smiling suspiciously at him.

"Then I am sure you have heard about that hot raven-haired lead singer they have, the one with freckles." Izo looked at Marco hoping he would get some kind of reaction, but the blond gave none so he continued. "If I don't remember wrong, he is in his early twenties."

"Sorry Izo, but I have only heard about the band." Marco looked over at his brother for a second before he let his eyes go back to the road. "I don't know anything about them, except that their fan base have been growing a lot lately."

"So you have never seen a picture of the band?" He shook his head at his brother's question, not bothering looking at him.

"Then I guess you didn't notice that he was staring at you during the whole gig we had yesterday." Marco shot a look at Izo who had now turned around and was staring out the window. Sighting, Marco turned on the radio for the rest of the ride.

They spent the rest of the drive, with the exception of the music coming from the radio, in silence.

Marco had noticed a really hot guy with freckles staring at him during their show last night at Shakky's. He had only seen him from a distance, since the guy was sitting by the bar while he was on stage and had left soon after their show. But from what he could see of the guy, who had not been wearing a shirt, he was pretty hot and he had well defined muscles, meaning he probably worked out quite a bit.

When they arrived at the Red Line club, Marco parked his car across the street from the club, and he and Izo got out.

"Thatch is already here." Marco followed Izo's look and saw his brother's car parked a little down the street.

Not bothering saying anything, Marco just walked through the door to the Red Line, Izo following right behind.

"Pops." Marco greeted with a smile as soon as he saw his father sitting by the bar talking to Thatch. His father, Edward Newgate, looked up and smiled to him and Izo as they came walking over.

"Marco. Izo. Thanks for coming." He smiled warmly to his sons as they stopped in front of him.

"The band you were talking about, when are they supposed to come down here?" Marco looked at his father who smiled before answering him.

"They should be coming soon." Marco nodded before he looked around.

"Where is Haruta?"

"Last I saw her she went backstage." Marco looked at Thatch, who smiled at him. He looked Thatch over for a second before nodding. The drummer was wearing light blue, loose jeans and a white long sleeved shirt. His brown hair was, as usual, styled in a pompadour hairstyle and his unmistakable black goatee covered his chin.

Before anyone could say anything else, they heard someone yelling "Marco!" and seconds later, someone jumped onto Marcos back.

"You're late Marco." He turned his head a little over his right shoulder so he could see his sister's face smiling at him.

"Hey Haruta." Marco smiled at his sister and put his arms under her knees to hold her up. Haruta locked her arms around Marco's neck and her legs around his torso and leaned into his back.

"Ne, Marco. Guess what."

"What?" He looked questioning at Harutas smiling face. She looked as if something really good had happened.

"I'm going to hang out with a friend today and he said he had a really cool brother, and I think you might like my friend's brother." Marco smiled holding in a laugh. She was always like that. Haruta always thought that Marco wasn't social enough, and at every chance she got, she tried to make him meet more people.

"Haruta. Marco is not as unsocial as you think he is." They both looked up at their father, who smiled down to them. Haruta released her hold on Marco and he let his hold of her knees go so she could slide off his back.

Now that he could get a better look at her, Marco saw that she was wearing a pair of baggy, white shorts that reached her a little over her knees and a way-to-big light-green t-shirt, which he recognized as his own.

"Haruta, is that my t-shirt?" Marco looked down at his sister who only smiled innocently up at him.

"Maybe." Marco just shook his head at the answer and rustled his hand in Harutas short, brown hair, while Izo and Thatch started laughing. There was a reason Marco never let Haruta be alone at his place anymore, she always took his shirts.

"Oh, The Phoenix is here." A new voice made them all turn towards it.

"So you are here brat." Newgate looked at the red-haired man the voice belonged to.

"Of course I am. I'm looking forward to seeing how good these guys have become." Shanks smiled. "The Straw Hats."

"You know one of the members right? That's why they're getting this chance." Izo looked at the red-haired man while speaking.

Before Shanks got the chance to answer, yelling coming from the front door of the club interrupted them.

"SHANKS!" A young boy with short, raven black hair came running towards Shanks and stopped grinning in front of him. The boy was wearing blue shorts, sandals and a red west, and he had a straw hat on his head.

"Luffy." Shanks smiled at the boy and started talking to him while Marco, Izo, Thatch, Haruta and Newgate looked at them. Well, it seemed as if the band was there.

Izo and Thatch started talking together about some new songs they were writing, while Haruta tried to interrupt them. Marco cast another glance at the boy Shanks was talking with before turning to his father.

"Have you ever heard the band, Pops?"

"No, but Shanks says they are good. He might know someone from the band, but he wouldn't give them credit if he didn't think they deserved it." Newgate smiled down to his son and opened up a new bottle of sake.

Marco smiled back before he looked at Haruta to get her attention and started talking with her. Izo shot him a grateful look before continuing his conversation with Thatch.

Izo didn't have anything against Haruta, they all loved her, but she was younger than the rest of them, and sometimes her energy could get too much.

Haruta was 19, seven years younger than Izo, eleven years younger than Thatch and fifteen years younger than Marco. Haruta was the youngest, not only in the band but also in their family, so she always had more energy than the rest.

"Marco." He got shook from his thoughts by his father's voice and looked up at him. Newgate nodded behind him and he turned his head around to see. Izo, Thatch and Haruta also got curious and looked in the direction their father nodded.

In front of the front door stood five people, four guys and a women. The orange haired woman walked straight over to Shanks and started talking to him. The boy that had been talking to Shanks looked around the room before he started running around inside the club.

Of the four other guys that had come in, there was a blond guy and a green haired guy that was arguing about something, a tall guy with an afro looked around and a raven-haired boy with freckles looked in their direction.

Wait. Wasn't that…?

"Marco, isn't that the guy that was staring at you during the show last night?" He turned his head and looked at Izo who had come closer and now smirked at him. Izo, seeing he had Marcos attention continued talking without waiting for a reply. "Who would have thought that that hottie played in The Straw Hats?"

Marco turned his head to look at the guy again, who were now talking with the orange haired woman. The blonds eyes followed him as he walked to the stage and jumped up to get ready.

Marco shook his head lightly before his eyes landed on Shanks that was on his way over to them with the orange haired woman following behind him.

"They will start playing in a few minutes." Shanks sat down by the bar and took a bottle of beer that stood on the counter. "This is Nami, she is their manager." He nodded towards the woman, who smiled at them, before taking a sip of the bottle.

"It's nice meeting you and thank you so much for giving the guys a chance for the show." She smiled at Shanks and Newgate before turning her attention to the four standing. "And it is really nice getting to meet the members from The Phoenix. I'm a big fan." She smiled to them before sitting down beside Shanks.

"How long have you been their manager?" Izo asked and looked at Nami, who smiled at him.

"Ever since they started playing together two years ago. I went to the same high school as Ace and even though he is two years older than me, we used to hang out a lot, so when the guys started a band Ace asked me to be their manager."

"I am just wondering, but aren't you maybe a little young to be a manager for a band?" Nami almost looked a little bit offended at Izo, before she answered.

"I'm good with money." She smirked a little at Izo before continuing. "And I'm good with getting what I want."

They all looked at her, a little surprised by her confidence. Newgate was the one that broke the silence that had fallen over them.

"Gurararara. It's good to have confidence in your own abilities, girl. That band is lucky to have you as their manager." He smiled down to the young girl.

"Talking about the band." Shanks nodded towards the stage. "It seems as if they are ready."

They all looked towards the stage, where The Straw Hats seemed to have just agreed on something.

All of a sudden they saw the raven-haired boy, that had been talking to Shanks earlier, walk to the stage and jump up before getting behind the drum kit.

Shanks raised his voice a little to get the attention of the band on the stage, before he said; "You guys can just start when you are ready." They nodded to him, and Marco saw that the guy with freckles say something to the drummer before turning around and grabbing the microphone.

The drummer hit his drumsticks together, first two times and then four, and the band started playing.

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><p>"Woohoo." They all started applauding when The Straw Hats finished playing the song. Nami walked over to the stage and talked to them a little before coming back.<p>

The band put down their instruments before coming over to the others. As soon as they stopped in front of the others, Haruta hurried and hugged the drummer.

"Luffy that was awesome." Haruta started jumping up and down, not noticing the surprised looks she got from her brothers.

"Haruta, do you know him?" Marco looked at his sister, as she stopped jumping up and down, and turned around to face him.

"Yeah, we are going to the same university and have the same major." She smiled at Marco. "Luffy is the friend I told you about that I'm going to hang out with today." Marco just nodded at the reply.

"I should probably properly introduce you guys." Nami said and caught everyone's attention. "The pianist is Brook, and the guitarist is Sanji." She pointed first to the guy with the afro, and then to the blond guy. "The bassist is Zoro, and the drummer is Luffy." She pointed to the green haired guy and the raven-haired boy Haruta had hugged. She then proceeded to laying her hand on the shoulder of the freckled raven-haired guy. "And this is Ace; he is the lead singer and the band's main songwriter."

The freckled guy, Ace, removed Nami's hand from his shoulder and looked annoyed at her. The orange haired woman just pretended she did not see it.

Not giving anyone the chance to say anything, she continued. "And the members of The Phoenix is; Izo, the lead singer. Thatch, the drummer. Haruta, the guitarist. And Marco, the bassist." She pointed to them as she talked, and when she finished she put her hands on her hips and smiled.

"It's nice to meet you guys." Izo smiled at the other band before continuing. "You guys are really good."

"Thanks." Ace said and smiled.

Nami asked if she could talk to Shanks and Newgate in private, and the three went off to the office to talk. Haruta and Luffy ended up walking over to the stage to talking about something, but Marco could not catch what it was. Izo and Thatch took Zoro, Sanji and Brook to show them around backstage, leaving Marco and Ace standing alone at the bar.

"Your name was Ace right?" Marco looked at the raven-haired guy in front of him, who nodded in reply. Realizing he was not going to say anything Marco continued. "You and the drummer, Luffy was it? Are you brothers? You look alike." This time Ace answered with words.

"Yeah, Luffy and I are brothers." Ace smiled at him before continuing. "We're not related by blood, but we are brothers." Marco looked a little surprised at him, but then he smiled

"I know what you mean. You don't need to be related to someone by blood for them to be family."

Ace and Marco stood and talked for a little while longer, before Luffy and Haruta came over to them.

"Ace, I'm hungry." They both looked at the younger raven-haired boy when he and Haruta stopped beside them. "Can we go to your place when we're done here?"

"Luffy, I don't have any food at my place." Ace looked at his brother for a few seconds before he nodded at Haruta. "And aren't you supposed to be hanging out with your friend today?"

"Luffy and I can hang out at your place. We can just go and buy food on the way." Haruta looked at Ace as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And Marco can come too."

"What?" Marco looked at his sister as if she just said something crazy.

"Yeah." She looked at him with the same look she just gave Ace. "I'm going to hang out with Luffy because we have an assignment for school, and Ace is going to be bored if he is alone so you have to come too."

Marco sighted and looked at his sister. "You have your own apartment, why don't you and Luffy just hang out at your place?"

"I did not think about that." Haruta looked at Luffy who grinned at her.

"Yosh, it's decided." Luffy looked at them. "We are all going to hang out at Ace's place."

"We are not, Luffy" Ace gave Luffy a smack in the back of his head. "I don't have money to feed you, and I also have to work today."

Luffy started pouting and looked at his brother with big eyes, but Ace just ignored him.

"Younger siblings can be a pain in the ass sometimes." Ace smiled apologetic to Marco.

"I know what you mean."

Luffy and Haruta looked almost shocked at their older brothers.

"I am not a pain in the ass." Haruta looked offended at Marco.

"Neither am I." Luffy pouted, before he and Haruta left to see if they could find Izo, Thatch, Zoro, Sanji and Brook.

Marco and Ace kept talking for a little while until Izo and the rest came and joined them. A few minutes later, Nami, Shanks and Newgate joined them too.

"I am looking forward to seeing you guys playing on friday." Shanks smiled to them.

"Does that mean…?" Ace looked at Nami who smiled to him.

"Yeah, you guys are playing at Red Line's Grand Event." Ace's jaw dropped. Luffy and Brook started yelling and jumping up and down. And Zoro and Sanji stopped arguing and smiled.

"Congrats." Thatch gave Ace a pat on the back and grinned at him.

"It is going to be fun sharing the stage with you guys on friday." Izo smiled at them.

"That is awesome. Luffy, we have to celebrate with pizza." Haruta gave Luffy a hug and smiled at him.

Marco just smiled and looked at the others. They seemed really happy to be able to play at Red Line, and his brothers and sister seemed really happy to get to share the stage with The Straw Hats.

"I know you guys are really happy right now, but we have to get going soon." Nami looked at the guys who looked a little disappointed at her.

"Why do we have get going?" the bassist, Zoro, asked.

"Because, if we don't get going soon a certain singer is going to be late for work." Nami looked over at Ace.

"Since when do you know my work schedule?"

"Since high school." Ace looked annoyed at Nami, who just smiled at him.

"Remind me why I tolerate you again."

"Because we are friends."

"Friends don't blackmail each other, Nami." Nami looked offended at Ace.

"Since when have I blackmailed you, Ace?"

"Since high school." Ace said it in a more girly voice to imitate her, and it made the others listening to them laugh.

Nami gave Ace an ugly look and smacked him in the back of his head, before turning towards the rest of The Straw Hats.

"Get your stuffs guys, we got to go." They nodded, and Sanji, Zoro and Brook went to the stage to get their instruments.

"Luffy, are you getting a ride with Haruta?" Luffy looked at Nami and nodded.

"Yeah, since you said we could not be at our place, we are going to be doing the assignment at Harutas place." Nami just nodded at the reply.

"The two of you live together?" Izo looked between Nami and Luffy with a little surprised look on his face.

"They are going out." Ace ignored the look Nami shot him when he said it.

"I am guessing you are the one that introduced them to each other." Marco looked at Ace who grinned at him.

"If I knew this would happen I would never have done it." Nami smacked Ace in the back of the head again. Ace shot her an annoyed look and Marco laughed a little.

"Haruta, I can give you and your friend a ride if you want to." Marco looked at his sister who smiled at him.

"Really? Thanks Marco." Haruta gave him a hug. "But you live in the complete opposite direction of me." Marco just smiled at her and ruffled her hair.

"I don't mind. It is better than Thatch giving you a ride and leaving me with having to sit in a car with Izo." That earned Marco a smack in the back of his head from said brother.

"Shut up Marco." Izo gave him an annoyed look before looking at Thatch. "We should probably get going to." Thatch looked at him and nodded.

"We will see you guys on friday." Thatch smiled at Ace, Nami and Luffy before he and Izo started walking towards the door.

Zoro, Sanji and Brook had finished getting their stuff and Nami threw the car keys to Sanji and told them just to go out to the van, before she turned her attention to Marco.

"You will be driving those two to East Blue, right?" She pointed to Luffy and Haruta. Marco nodded.

"Luffy, Haruta lives in the same direction as Ace right?" Nami turned towards Luffy.

"Yeah, she lives pretty close to Ace actually." Nami smiled and turned towards Marco again.

"Could you take him too?" She pointed at Ace. "I will be driving to East Blue too, but Ace lives in a different direction than the rest of us, and since you are already heading in the same direction." She looked pleading at Marco.

"Sure. Why not?" Marco smiled at her and Nami looked gratefully at him before turning towards Shanks and Newgate, who had been quiet during the conversations.

"Shanks, Newgate. It was nice to meet you, and thank you so much for letting The Straw Hats play at Red Line's Grand Event." Nami smiled to them. "I have to go now, but I will see you guys on friday."

"It was nice meeting you Nami." Shanks smiled to her and gave her a hug.

"That band really is lucky to have such a great manager." Newgate smiled at Nami.

Saying goodbye, Nami turned around and walked out of the club.

"We should probably get going too." Marco looked at Ace, Luffy and Haruta.

Ace took up his phone and looked at the screen before looking at Marco. "Yeah, we should get going."

"Haruta, the two of you can just head out to my car. It's parked across the street." Marco threw his car keys to Haruta who caught them and started dragging Luffy with her outside, yelling a goodbye to her father.

"Bye Shanks." Luffy grinned at them before Haruta could drag him through the door.

"Was that really a good idea?" Ace looked questioning at Marco.

"Probably not, so we should go after them." Marco looked at Ace before looking at his father. "I will see you later Pops."

Newgate smiled to him, and Marco and Ace said goodbye before walking outside. Luffy and Haruta already sat in the backseat of Marcos car, and Marco got in in the driver's seat and Ace in the passenger seat.

"When do you have to be at work?" Marco looked over to Ace when he started driving.

"In about two hours." Ace looked out of the window.

"Where do you work? I can drive you there if you want to." Ace looked over at Marco, but before he could answer, Luffy did it for him.

"Ace is a waiter at Baratie. I really want to go to eat there but Ace says I can't." Marco looked at Luffy in the rear-view mirror.

"Marco, can we go and eat at Baratie?" Haruta looked pleading at her brother in the rear-view mirror.

"Maybe later Haruta." Luffy and Haruta both started pouting in the backseat.

"Never take Luffy out to eat. He can eat out a whole restaurant by himself." Marco shot a glance at Ace who grinned at him.

"Like you are any better than me." Luffy pouted in the backseat.

"I told you his brother was cool Marco." Haruta grinned in the backseat and Marco shook his head a little before turning on the CD player.

"Is that Breaking Benjamin?" Ace looked questioning at Marco when the music started playing. He nodded in reply. Grinning, Ace started singing along to the lyrics. Luffy and Haruta joined in from the backseat, and Marco laughed a little from where he was sitting behind the steering wheel.

"Take the next right." Ace pointed at an exit to the right that led to the parking lot for an apartment building.

Marco turned right where Ace pointed and stopped the car outside the apartment complex. The apartment building was two stories high, with five entrances after each other, all on the first level.

"Thanks for the ride." Ace looked gratefully at Marco before turning around and looked at his brother. "Luffy, don't destroy anything."

Luffy looked offended at his brother when Ace opened the car door and got out. Before he closed it, he turned and looked at Marco.

"It was nice meeting you Marco. And you Haruta. Bye." Marco lifted his hand in goodbye, and Haruta and Luffy both practically screamed goodbye as Ace closed the door.

Marco watched Ace walk up to one of the doors at the end and open it. When Ace had walked inside, Marco left the parking lot and started driving towards Harutas apartment a few blocks away.

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><p>As soon as Ace had closed the door behind him, he let himself fall to the floor, leaning his back against the front door.<p>

Fuck. He had not just met the hot blond he had been staring at yesterday; he had even gotten a ride home from him.

Ace just sat on the floor in front of his front door for a few minutes taking in everything that had already happened today. The Straw Hats would be playing at Red Line's Grand Event. He had met The Phoenix. He had been talking to that hot blond bassist his eyes had been glued to the previous night. He had learned the blondes name, Marco. The bassist now knew where he lived.

When everything had really sunk in, Ace got up from the floor and kicked off his shoes before going up the stairs to his bedroom. He threw off the yellow t-shirt and the black shorts, before replacing them with a pair of black jeans and a white dress shirt.

He left his room and walked to the bathroom to take a look in the mirror. His hair was a little messy and he fixed it before walking downstairs and back to the front door, where he pulled on his black boots again.

Taking up his phone to check the time, he saw that he had around half an hour before he had to be at work. Ace threw on a black hoodie that hung by the door and grabbed his headphones from the counter before he walked out the door and locked it.

Ace put in his headphones on and pressed play at a random playlist. Fall Out Boy started playing and he started walking towards the Baratie.

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><p><strong>This chapter was actually pretty fun to write. And I don't know about you guys, but I can see Ace and Nami being kinda mean to each other even thought they actually get along really good.<strong>

**I get really happy by reviews, so if you have time I'd love it if you left one.**

**One thing I started thinking about while writing this chapter is that it might seem a little confusing with the city and stuff, so I'm adding a little information about the city the story is going on in her since I have no idea of how to work that information into the story.**

**Also, a little thing about Haruta. Since Harutas gender have never been confirmed, and it can go either way, I decided to make her a girl for this story.**

**And I'm also adding the ages of the people that have been introduced since I have lowered the ages of some of them.**

**Marco: 34**

**Izo: 26**

**Thatch: 30**

**Haruta: 19**

**Ace: 22**

**Luffy: 19**

**Brook: 38**

**Zoro: 21**

**Sanji: 21**

**Nami: 20**

**Shanks: 39**

**Whitebeard: 52**

**The city they live in is called New World.**

**Grand Line is a big area in the middle of the city New World. Grand Line is the big music area, with a lot of clubs and bars that have bands playing there from time to time and have live music most of the time. There are also a lot of music stores that sells both cd's and instruments and anything a musician would need. Record companies, recording studios and rehearsal studios are also spread over the Grand Line area.**

**North blue, East blue, South blue, West blue.**

**Living areas. This are the areas where most of the houses and apartments are located in the city. In all four areas you can also find malls, stores, bars, clubs, schools, restaurants, convenience stores,**

**Of course, the areas and prices are different.**

**North Blue is the most expensive place to live. The rent is high, and all the stores, bars, clubs and restaurants are expensive. The area have private schools, and only the wealthy people with a lot of money can live there.**

**South Blue is the cheapest place to live. South blue is more like the lawless area in New World. There is a lot of criminality there, the buildings are pretty shit, rent is cheap, the prices in the stores are low. The schools are bad and the education is low in this area.**

**East Blue is, along with West blue, more like the middle class area. The buildings are nice, the prices are not to high. The schools are not too bad, not the best, but still very good.**

**West Blue are pretty much just the same as East blue, with the exception of everything being more expensive than in East blue. The buildings are also in better condition than in East blue.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, this chapter took me longer than I planned. **

**I started writing this chapter, but had to stop because I didn't really feel like writing anything. But I decided to make sure I got this chapter out before 2015 started, and there is a little more than 30 minutes left of 2014 where I am.**

**I'm not gonna say so much more here, I just wanna apologize for taking so long to get this chapter out. And I'm sorry it's so short, but I'll try to get the next chapter out faster.**

**Btw, thanks so much for the reviews on the first two chapters. Reading them always make me happy, and thank you so much to everyone that have favorited or followed this story. It means a lot to me seeing that people want to read more of this story.**

**Okay, now I'm really gonna stop. Enjoy reading this chaper :)**

**Disclamer: Sadly enough, I don't own One Piece nor any of the characters.**

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><p>"...please enjoy your meal." The raven-haired boy with freckles smiled at the couple before leaving them to eat the food he had just brought them. He walked back to the kitchen to see if any of his other orders were finished.<p>

"Ace. Table 3's order is ready." Ace looked over at the blond that talked to him and nodded.

"I'll bring it out, Sanji." He picked up the plates Sanji pointed to, before walking back out to the main restaurant.

Ace walked over to table 3 and placed the plates in front of the two men that sat there. Telling them to enjoy their meal, he walked away from the table and headed for the kitchen again.

"Ace-san." He stopped and turned around to look at a fairly tall, slim and pale girl with blonde hair.

"Is everything okay, Kaya?" Ace smiled at the waitress.

"There are some new customers at table 1." Ace looked over at table 1, which were placed in a corner of the restaurant, and made a grimace.

Ace sighted before he smiled to Kaya again. "Thanks for letting me know Kaya. Could you go to the kitchen and see if the order for table 5 is ready?" Kaya nodded and left for the kitchen.

When he was working, Ace was in charge of table 1 to 5. Kaya was one of the waitresses that worked with Ace on the same tables.

Sighting a last time, Ace put on a smile and walked over to table 1, where his brother was sitting along with the two other people that had been in the same car as him a few hours earlier.

"I thought I warned you about taking Luffy out to eat." Ace smiled to the blond sitting by the table.

"Haruta wanted to come here and eat, and I owed her one." Marco looked Ace up and down, before letting his eyes rest on his face.

"Well, you're warned about Luffy." Ace shot his brother a short look before continuing. "Do you guys want to order?"

"Oi, Ace." Luffy looked offended at his brother. "You're not any better than me."

The freckled teen shook his head but ignored his brothers' comment.

"Do you guys want to order, or do you need more time?" At the second mention of food, Luffy started grinning.

"All the meat." Ace looked at the blond, knowing he was the one paying. Marco nodded, before ordering a steak for himself. Haruta smiled and ordered a burger and fries.

Ace wrote down their orders and went back to the kitchen to give it to the chefs. After giving the order for table 1 to the chefs, Ace heard raised voices and hurried back out to the main restaurant.

One of the men at table 3, which Ace had given their order to a few minutes earlier, was standing and yelling at the blonde waitress sitting on the floor, trying to wipe up the spilled wine.

Ace started walking over to the table and stopped beside Kaya, who were still sitting on the floor.

"Do you have a problem, Sir?" Ace kept his voice polite while he looked at the man.

"A problem?" The man was almost shaking with anger. "THAT INCOMPETENT WAITRESS SPILLED WINE ALL OVER MY SUIT!"

Ace looked down on Kaya, who lowered her head. Sighing, he held his hand out to her and helped her up on her feet. Now that he could see her standing up, Ace could see that Kaya had spilled the wine on herself too. He also noticed that parts of her clothes were a little torn from the broken glass, and that there were coming a little blood from some small cuts.

"Kaya, are you okay?" Ace looked worried at her, completely ignoring the angry customer.

"I…"

"WHO CARES ABOUT THAT STUPID WAITRESS? I'M GOING TO SUE THIS RESTAURANT!" Ace took his eyes of Kaya and looked at the man yelling.

"We're inside a restaurant, so please don't yell." Ace gave the man an annoyed look before continuing. "And it's just clothes; don't get so mad about it."

The whole restaurant was looked at them, all the yelling had made them curious. Some of the chefs had also come out of the kitchen, wondering about all the noise. Sanji was standing with them planning to interfere, but as soon as he saw Ace standing beside the waitress, he kicked the chefs back into the kitchen.

"YOU BRAT!" The man threw a punch towards Ace, but the raven-haired boy ducked before taking a hold of the man's wrist.

"I have to ask you to leave." Ace was now giving the man a pissed looked, before letting go of the man's wrist and raising his arm. He sent the guy flying into the table, breaking it, with a punch. Ace turned his attention to the other man that had been sitting by the table. "You should take your buddy and leave."

The guy helped his friend up on his feet before glaring at Ace. "Our boss won't let you get away with this, you brat." And then he turned around and helped his friend out of the restaurant.

People were still looking over to where Ace and Kaya were standing when Sanji came walking over to them, laying a hand on Ace's shoulder for a second.

Ace took the hint and turned around to Kaya, before starting to walk towards the staff room while giving Kaya a hand.

Before closing the door to the staff room, Ace could hear Sanji apologizing to the other guests for the scene.

Ace helped Kaya over to one of the chairs and let her sit down while he got the first aid kit.

"Ace-san, I'm so sorry." The raven-haired boy looked surprised at her. "I tripped while getting a new bottle of wine and…" Ace held up his hand to stop her.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Kaya." He smiled at her, before starting to clean and cover up the small cuts on her arms and legs.

After treating the cuts, Ace noticed that one of Kaya's ankles looked a little swollen and asked if it hurt. He took of the low shoe she had on her right foot, before going to get an ice pack.

When he came back, Ace had the ice pack laying inside a towel and he carefully raised Kaya's foot and placed it on another chair before slowly putting the towel with the ice pack over the swollen ankle.

Telling Kaya to rest, Ace walked through the door connecting the kitchen and staff room.

"Is Kaya okay?" Sanji came up to him as soon as he entered the kitchen and Ace smiled to him.

"She have some small cuts and her ankle is probably sprained. I thought I'd give Usopp a call and have him pick her up."

"I'm glad she's okay. And I've already called Usopp, he's on his way." Sanji looked towards the door to the main restaurant before continuing. "That shitty old man is probably mad about the table."

"Then I should probably stay away from Zeff for the rest of the day." Ace grinned.

"By the way, the order for table 1 is ready." Sanji gave Ace a small grin. "You need any help taking it out?"

Ace looked in the direction the blond were nodding and made a grimace. The whole kitchen bench, where the orders for table 1 were always placed, were full.

"Who's available?" Sanji thought a little before answering.

"None of the waiters, but I'll give you a hand."

"What about Kid? Isn't he supposed to be working right now?" Ace walked over to the plates with food that were placed on the kitchen bench with the number 1 hanging over it.

"Bastard didn't show up." Sanji came over and took the plate with the steak and the plate with burger and fries and two plates with meat before walking out of the kitchen. Ace sighted and picked up the reminding plates with meat and followed Sanji out of the kitchen.

They walked over to table 1, Ace first. Ace placed the plates with meat in front of his brother, while Sanji gave Haruta and Marco their orders before placing the two plates with meat he had in front of Luffy.

Luffy threw himself over the food instantly, and seeing Luffy, Haruta grinned and started eating; trying to keep up with the speed Luffy swallowed his food. Marco smiled at the two younger teenagers throwing themselves over the food.

"I didn't know you worked her." Marco looked at Sanji before he started to eat.

"My dad owns the place." Sanji shrugged his shoulders and went back to the kitchen.

Ace asked if they wanted anything to drink, and went over to the bar to get it before coming back.

When Ace came back to table 1 with the drinks, a guy with half-long, black curly hair and a long nose was standing by the table talking to them.

"Usopp, Kaya is in the staff room." Ace smiled at the young guy and placed the drinks in front of Luffy, Haruta and Marco.

"What happened? Sanji called me and told me I should come pick up Kaya." Usopp looked worried at Ace, and Ace smiled reassuring to him.

"Just a broken bottle and some troublesome customers." Ace turned and faced Usopp. "She have a few cuts and probably a sprained ankle. I cleaned the cuts and gave her an ice pack for the ankle, but you should take her to the hospital."

"Thanks Ace." Usopp smiled to him before turning to the ones sitting at the table. "It was nice meeting you guys, but I should probably get my girlfriend." Usopp said goodbye and started walking to the staff room where Kaya was sitting.

Ace turned and looked at the ones sitting at the table. Luffy were stuffing his face full of food, Haruta tried to keep up with Luffy but failing, and Marco was taking his time with his food.

"I have to get back to work, but let me know if you guys need anything else." Ace smiled and walked back to the kitchen.

When he walked through the door to the kitchen, he stopped in his track and tried to, slowly, walk out again before he was noticed. But he failed.

"Don't even try, brat." Ace swore inside, but walked into the kitchen and let the door close behind him.

An elderly-looking man with blond hair, a braided mustache and a long chef's hat were staring at him with an annoyed look.

"If it's about the table, it wasn't my fault Zeff." The raven-haired boy raised his hands towards the owner of the restaurant.

"If you had to break the table you might as well have given that bastard a proper beating, kid." The owner looked at Ace for a second before letting his attention go to the chefs making food.

Ace smiled a little before walking out of the kitchen to check up on the tables he were in charge of. He still had two more hours to work before his shift was over.

* * *

><p>Marco walked into the bar and looked around. There weren't many people in Partys Bar, and that was one of the reasons why Marco liked going to that bar in East Blue.<p>

He walked over to the bar and sat down. A female bartender with dark green hair came over to him when he sat down.

"Welcome. What can I get you?" She smiled at him.

"A beer." Marco smiled back and took a sip of the beer when the bartender placed an open bottle of beer in front of him. "Thanks Makino." The bartender smiled to him before she walked over to one of the tables with a few bottles of beer.

Marco sighted and thought about what happened at the restaurant when he was eating with Haruta and Luffy. The guy that had been sent flying into the table and the guy he had been eating with, Marco could swear he had seen those guys before. And wherever he had seen them, it had not been in good company.

The blond sat there by the bar by himself for an hour or so before someone sat down beside him. He looked up and saw a woman with long orange hair. She was wearing blue, low-rider jeans, a yellow short-sleeved shirt with a hoodie and black high-heels that reached her a little about the ankles.

"I hope you don't mind me sitting here." She smiled at him and the blond smiled back.

"Nami, wasn't it?" She nodded before ordering a beer from the bartender that had come over. Marco ordered another beer himself and paid for both bottles.

"Thanks." Nami took a sip of her beer. "I'm a little curious, what is the famous bassist doing in a bar like this in East Blue?"

"I came over this bar a few years ago while bar jumping with a few of my brothers." Marco took a sip of his beer before continuing. "It's usually really quiet here, so I kept coming back. I like the place." He looked over at Nami. "What about you? How did you come over this bar?"

"Ace showed me the place when we were in high school. We used to 'borrow' some alcohol here." Nami smiled a little at the memory.

"You and Ace seem close." Marco looked at her.

"We've been through a lot together." Nami smiled to the blond and took another sip of her beer. "Around the time I met Ace, I was in a lot of trouble. I was involved with a gang called Arlong Pirates and when I started high school and met Ace I was really deep in it." Nami swallowed before continuing. "Ace found out after we had been hanging out for a few months, and he helped me get out of the gang. Arlong went underground after that and I haven't heard anything about him since either." Nami looked at Marco with a smile. "Ace saved me from all the trouble I was in back then, and I owe him for it."

"I get it. If someone helps you out like that, you'd feel like you owe them a lot." Marco smiled to her and put a hand on her shoulder for a few seconds.

"Ace gets annoyed, irritated and mad at me a lot, but I can always count on him being there if I need him." Nami laughed a little. "That's something those two idiots have in common; neither of them would ever let down a friend nor let anyone get away with hurting their friend."

"I'm guessing 'those two idiots' are Luffy and Ace." Nami nodded.

They sat there in the bar talking for a little while before Nami had to start leaving.

"It was really nice getting to talk to you Marco." She drank the rest of her third beer before getting up from her seat.

"It was really nice talking to you too Nami." The blond smiled at her. Nami turned around and was about to start walking towards the exit when she turned around again.

"By the way, everything I told you stays between the two of us." She gave him one last smile before she left the bar.

Marco shook his head a little and finished his own beer before leaving the bar. He had left his car parked outside Harutas place, and that was where he was heading now. He figured he would just stay at his sister's place for the night. He wasn't in any shape to drive back home at the moment anyway.

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><p>After he had finished his shift at Baratie, Ace had walked home and changed clothes before heading out again. He had gotten on a bus to South Blue, and currently he was sitting in front of a grave in Baterilla.<p>

"Hey mom." He smiled a little for himself. "I wasn't really planning on coming today, so I didn't bring any flowers. I just felt like I had to come and visit you today."

After a little while, it started raining and the raven-haired boy pulled his black jacket closer around his body. Despite the rain, he sat in front of the grave for hours talking about everything that had happened since sunday. When he didn't have anything else to talk about, he sat still for a little while before getting up.

"Well, I have to get going." It was still raining, and he shivered a little. "I'll come back with flowers on sunday, so I'll see you then mom." He smiled a little while he walked out of the cemetery and started walking back home. The clock had passed midnight, and he knew there weren't any busses going in South Blue after midnight.

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><p><strong>Ace is a really nice guy, right? But I almost hate myself a little for writing that last part.<strong>

**Well, nothing to do about that now.**

**If you have time and feel like it; please leave a review and let me know what you think about the story. Any tips to how I can make it better is appreciated :D**


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